If you have an unusual name how much does it bother you to pronounce it and correct others? Swistle asked the question earlier this week, and the answers were interesting. For me, I think it’s a matter of degree. My maiden name – wow, that sounds old-fashioned, doesn’t it? – was really, really unusual and impossible to pronounce. There’s a D next to a N. I loathed it. But with the passing of time, I’ve come to appreciate it – now that it’s more of an ideal and less than a practical matter. My sisters, who both kept the surname, don’t mind much at all. Join me on Patreon Consider joining the AM ..read more

B writes: I sent in a request for name help in November 2020 and received wonderful feedback, a sister for Maverick and Elliot. We ended up choosing Adrienne Elizabeth and still love our choice! We are now due with our second girl in June and are struggling to settle on a name. So far, we have considered Waverly, Meredith, Juliet, and Caroline. The only name we’ve crossed off is Caroline as it sounds too similar to a couple family members’ names, and we want to do something different. We would like to stick with our 3 syllable trend. The middle name we are thinking of is Rayne, which is my mid ..read more

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! Taylor writes: I have a naming question, and could use an outside opinion. My boyfriend is determined to use a family name for our son, due in a few weeks. He wants to name him Jason, after his older brother, who stepped up and filled in the gaps after their father died while my boyfriend was still in high school. Jason is an ama ..read more

Here’s something that’s different about naming a child in 2024: if we’ve named our kid after our hero, we want to you to know. Lennon, not John. Avila, not Teresa. Not every family, of course. And plenty of first names are plenty distinctive on their own. Tycho (Brahe), Solange (Knowles). But hero names are obvious and clear now, and not even a little bit subtle. Elsewhere online … Cool name. What could it be short for? Hattie comes from Harriet. Unless it comes from … Hatteras? Laura Wattenberg talks us through some extraordinary names that are rising in conjunction with more familiar short n ..read more

Megan writes: We’re expecting our second son, and probably our last child, this summer. It took us forever to agree on our Hayden’s name, but now we love it and can’t imagine using any of the other names we considered. But that means that our original list from two years ago is off the table, and we’re starting at zero. With Hayden’s name, we weren’t sure about whether we’d regret it because it rhymes with Jayden and Aiden. So far that hasn’t been an issue at all. Here’s what we’re working with: Our last name sounds like Kirk with a B. Because it’s so harsh, names like Jack, Luke, Kai, etc. a ..read more

CA writes: I’m writing because you helped us with our last son’s name dilemma and we’re expecting again and would love some help this time around too!  In the end, he became Aleks@nder Bl@ise Louie, often called Bl@ise Louie. It’s a name that has a lot of meaning for us and we went with the more informal Louie so that it would get pronounced the way we intended. It suits him well! Now we’re expecting a little girl – our fifth and definitely final baby – in May. Girl names come easier for us, but we’re getting close and still haven’t settled on The Name for her. After the challenges of Bl ..read more

When it comes to unique words for names, things can feel a little wild. Reckless, even. We marvel when we spot a Galaxy or a Canyon on social media. Our colleague names their kiddo Rocket and we gleefully report back to our friends, eyebrows raised. But word names work – and they’re far from new. Just ask any Rose. Kindergarten classes circa 2030 will almost certainly include a Willow, River, or Legend. Wait, you insist. Violet and Daisy have been around for years. That’s not nearly the same thing as naming a baby Marigold or Ocean. Choices like Blue, Dream, and Sunny are fine for celebrities ..read more

Here’s something that’s been on my mind: so often we talk about names with absolute authority. This name is weird, that name is way too popular. But those tend to be gut reactions. Wade is much too popular because you knew a guy with that name in high school, and then had a co-worker with the name a few years ago. That’s not based on numbers in any way – it’s your immediate reaction based on the chance that you’ve known two. Luna is way too weird, because it sounds like looney. And the only time you’ve heard the name was your former neighbor’s cat. One of the really valuable things checking th ..read more

Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight! Hannah writes: Our daughter’s name came to us immediately. She’s Lyla Juniper. We went back and forth on the spelling, but we’re happy with the one we chose. Now we’re expecting our second and final child. It’s a boy, and we’re finding that boy names are harder for us. Names we’ve discussed: CREW – We like this one, but our last ..read more

The nickname Ozzy feels like the next big thing. Of course, just plain Ozzy is catching on. In 2021, it debuted in the US Top 1000 at #712. That works out to 364 births. In 2022, that number rose 448 births, for a rank of #620. You’re more likely to meet a boy named Ozzy than one called Wayne, Langston, or Thaddeus. Unlike Charlie from Charles or Freddie from Frederick, it’s not obvious where this unique name comes from. And, of course, the meaning of the name Ozzy shifts depending on the formal name. As this edgy nickname continues to gain in popularity, what are the best formal names for the ..read more